Rasgullas are a popular Odia sweet dish or dessert, commonly found in the states of Odisha and West Bengal and other states in India. It is tasty and veg too.

Serves: 6 helpings

Ingredients

Basic rasgulla:

1 liter (0.3 US gal) milk

½ tsp. citric acid

1 ½ cups sugar

4 cups water

2-3 drops rose essence

Citric juice rasgulla:

1 liter (0.3 US gal) milk

1.5 tablespoons lime or lemon juice

Ice cubes (about 6)

1 ½ cups sugar + 4 cups water to make sugar syrup

½ teaspoon cardamom powder

Pistachios, chopped

Steps

Method1

Basic rasgulla

1

Heat the milk and bring to boil.

2

Cool the milk for a couple of hours. Remove the cream layer.

3

Reheat the milk and bring to a boil.

4

Add the citric acid dissolved in some water.

5

Stir slowly till the milk is fully curdled.

6

Keep as it is for 5 minutes.

7

Meanwhile heat the sugar and water in a wide saucepan. Bring to a boil.

8

Strain the milk through a muslin cloth. Wash this strained milk- ("chenna") in the cloth under cold running water.

9

Press out the excess water and remove in a wide plate.

10

Gently knead into a soft dough by passing between fingers.

11

Make twelve equal sized balls of the dough.

12

Let them into the boiling water. Cover with a perforated lid. Boil for 13 to 15 minutes.

13

Take off from heat and cool them to room temperature.

14

Add essence and chill for at least 4 to 5 hours.

Method2

Citric juice rasgulla

1

Heat the milk. Pour into a heavy based pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer.

2

Add the lemon or lime juice. Stir through well. Stir until the whey water clears and the milk completely curdles.

Take a little whey water out and set aside.

3

Remove from the heat. Add the ice cubes. Allow them to melt completely.

4

Place a piece of muslin or cheesecloth over a bowl. Hold taught with an elastic band.

5

Pour the milk mixture through. The whey water will go into the bowl and the cloth will capture the curd. The curd will become "paneer".

6

Wash the curd well. Wash under running water until you have removed the lemon odor. Squeeze out any excess water, then hang it up for 30 minutes to drip. Do not disturb it.

7

After 30 minutes, check the paneer. It should have a crumbly appearance. Knead it well for 10 minutes until a smooth dough forms.

8

Form balls from the dough. Roll into balls about the size of a standard lemon. Set aside. You should be able to make about 13-15 mini balls.

9

Heat the 4 cups of water in a wide-bottomed vessel. Add sugar to taste and cardamom powder. Keep stirring until the sugar completely dissolves; this will make a sugar syrup.

10

When the syrup boils and starts to bubble, add the paneer balls. Add them slowly, one by one. Allow to simmer for 3 minutes. The balls will go to the corner, so keep shifting them back to the middle with a wooden spoon or spatula.

11

Add a lid. Cook for 10 minutes. However, open every 3-4 minutes to ensure that the steam escapes and to prevent the sugar syrup from boiling over. After 10 minutes, you'll find that the balls have doubled in size.

12

The rasgullas are done at this stage. Remove from the heat. Allow to cool completely. Transfer to a serving dish.

13

Add chopped pistachios to the mixture. Place in the refrigerator to chill for an hour.

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Video

This video shows how to make RasGulla without citric acid. It is easy to follow.Good luck

Tips

Use full cream milk-preferably.

To make colored Rasgulla, do not add food color to the milk. Add desired food color while kneading the chenna. When you work flour in, the color will automatically bleed in to it. Normal colors of choice are yellow and pink.

Things You'll Need

Method 1:

Fridge

Cloth

Utensils

Method 2:

Heavy based pan

Stirring spoon or spatula

Muslin or cheesecloth and elastic band

Mixing bowl

Kneading surface

Somewhere to hang the paneer, e.g., over cheesecloth/muslin or on a wire rack